The Heart of the Matter

The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more.

By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.

Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith."

And the Law did not require faith.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.

[Put] no confidence in the flesh -- though I myself have reasons for such confidence. In regard to. . . legalistic righteousness: faultless.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ...


Romans 5:20, Romans 3:20, Galatians 3:11-12, Romans 3:21, Philippians 3:3~10

Knowing HIM!

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life...we know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

And this is my prayer: That your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight...

...that you may know the love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.


Ephesians 1:17-18, 1 John 5:13 & 19-20, 2 Peter 3:17-18, John 17:3, Philippians 1:9, Ephesians 3:19, John 17:26

Victory: Knowing the Name

Through You we push back our enemies; through Your name we trample our foes.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

O Lord our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

I am the Lord, that is My name, I will not give My glory to another; nor My praise to graven images.

Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name or his son's name? Surely you know!

[The next day] he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The righteous and holy one...which God raised from the dead...on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man which you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him perfect health in the presence of you all.

O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.


Psalm 44:5, Exodus 14:14, Psalm 9:10, Proverbs 18:10, Psalm 8:9, Isaiah 42:8, Proverbs 30:4, John 1:27, Acts 4:12, Philippians 2:10-11, Acts 3:14-16, John 17:25-26

Trifecta!

Wisdom...grace...humility.

...words from the mouth of the wise man are gracious...


...God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble...

...the humility that comes from wisdom...


Ecclesiastes 10:12, James 4:6, James 3:13

Loving

Whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we loved the children of God, when we love God.

Whatever you do for the least of these brothers of Mine, you do for Me.

He who loves his wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the Church, because we are members of His body.

The Father and I are one.

For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

The glory which You have given to Me, I have given to them, that they may be one, just as we are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved me before the foundation of the world. . . I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.


1 John 5:1-2, Matthew 25:40, Ephesians 5:28-30, John 10:30, Ephesians 4:4-6, John 17:22~26

Harvest of Love

That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished.

One plants, another waters, but God makes it grow.

Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while were were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olives should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should not be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and He makes me to walk upon my high places.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. . . Abide in My love.


1 Corinthians 13:36-38, 1 Corinthians 3:7, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 5:22, Habakkuk 3:17-19, John 15:4-5, 9 

He is

He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him.

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and that life was the light of man.

...even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
(Or -- "calls the things which do not exist as existing.")

He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him and let him go."

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

And this is eternal life, they they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.


Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15-17,  John 1:3-4, Romans 4:17, John 11:43-44, Romans 6:4, John 17:3


Thus says the Lord, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this: That he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness upon the earth; for I delight in these things," declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:22-23

A String of Pearls

Oh, how He loves me.

The only way I could express what I want to say tonight is by letting it be scattered. There are so many stories I could tell -- and WANT to tell. But tonight I simply want to describe the treasures I have found recently, examining each pearl one by one that hangs on a seamless thread of gold.

How is it that I am in a life where people beg for me to let them love me? How is it that among those are ones who say, "You don't have to do anything," when I say, "I don't even know what to do with all of this love"?

How is it that loving vulnerably with my whole heart is no longer a place of fear, but of rest and unspeakable joy? How is it that when Love pours Himself out of me that I am fulfilled, lacking nothing, and don't care if I receive anything in return? How is it that I am no longer concerned with keeping tabs on human terms, but with basking in the heavenly joy that I receive when I give? How is it that He satisfies me so much that even the slightest acknowledgement from the ones I love is received as lavishing grace because I was already overflowing?

How is it that I think of "dying every day" and resting in His love as one in the same? What brought me to the point of believing that when He leads me to "sacrifice," it is no sacrifice at all? What is it that makes me so convinced of future delight that I am dancing now over a goodness I haven't seen, but can taste anytime by trust?

Though I have not seen Him, I love Him, and even though I do not see Him now I trust Him and am filled with inexpressible and glorious joy, obtaining as the outcome of my trust... 1 Peter 1:8-9

How is it that I approach the throne of Grace boldly with joyful, open hands? How is it that I don't think anything would be too much to ask? What makes me think that YHWH is glorified and pleased to give me the desires of my heart?

How am I not surprised anymore when He gives good gifts to His Brittany?

Who convinced me that I can live and love as if I have no good thing to lose or ill thing to gain? What makes me think I am so free?

Why in the world am I walking boldly along a line of blatant, visible uncertainty with goblets of bravery and every ounce of love I have ever known? Why do I feel so secure? What thrusts me into a place that is beyond unafraid, but playfully hopeful? How can One Man's promises corner me into such excitement?

What makes me think I know and feel the heartbeat of the Lover of my soul? What caused me to believe that I find more in a moment of faith than others learn in decades of "knowledge"? Who am I to say that I know His heart? Do I think I'm His darling wife, His treasured inheritance to whom He longs to reveal Himself?

Yes. I do.

How is it that a situation that could have easily been complicated and painful was instead freeing, graceful, simple and restful? Do I think His yoke is that easy?

How is it that I can sit on the floor and say nothing and another in the room can feel immensely loved by my presence? Why do I keep finding that the more I rest in His love and enjoy His presence, the more love others experience through me?

Why do I think Jesus is so eager not only to love me, but to love FOR me? Why would I think He wants to do anything on my behalf?

Scars. It's His scars, people.

How could I have a terribly heavy heart one day and then freely, joyfully let the ocean's waves crash over me the next? What is that thing in me that loves to play without a goal and laugh because I can? What kept me doing cartwheels on the beach until I was too dizzy to stand upright...and not care? How is it that I played tag with the shore and lost every time but felt like I had won a prize anyway?

How is it that I don't try to process beauty anymore -- visible or not -- but only want to behold it?

How is it that the only measure I use anymore is not time or space or quantity, but love?

What made me say to my dear friend, "Knowing Him in all things seemed irrelevant until it consumed me...and then everything else seemed irrelevant"?

How is it that the only thing to ever make me stubborn is love?

How is it that sometimes I can't get past the embrace of His love to even notice if I am cold or tired or hungry?

What makes me think that the more vulnerable I am, the more love I will receive? Why do I think I am only opening myself up to grace? Why don't I think it's a gamble? Why am I not afraid of being disappointed?

What finally broke my belief in the lie that when I choose to love one person, I am not loving another?

Why am I no longer afraid to put together something so raw and unedited? Such is my heart. Why don't I taste any shame when I let things be what they already are, out in the open instead of festering within?

Why am I beginning to love my weaknesses and not think so highly of my strengths?

What has made me so bold -- or is it weak? -- that I err on the side of grace?

Why do I think of myself as royalty?

Why do I think He loves me so much?

Why do I think that being in a desert with Jesus sounds more like a honeymoon getaway than a season of drought?

What is it that makes me believe my heart and my feelings aren't right or wrong anymore, but just ARE? Why have I stopped telling myself what I should be or do, but instead tell myself to just BE whatever and however I am in Him? Only in Him.

Why? How? And what?

I think the questions pronounce more than any answers I could muster up. I'll leave them as they are, for now.